2018 Diesel Power Challenge Voting

Vote Now to Determine the Lineup for Diesel Power Challenge XIV

It’s time! “Time for what?” you ask? Well, while we think a majority of the diesel enthusiasts reading this are well aware of the answer to that question, here’s the lowdown for the (hopefully small) group of readers who are turning these pages for the first time. This report presents to you the Dodge Ram (and Ram), Ford, and GM trucks that have been selected for the “voting” stage of Diesel Power Challenge 2018.

We hereby request that you review the photos and details on the 38 pickups featured in the following pages. And, based on everything ranging from those visuals, details, and, of course, your “gut instinct,” select 10 you feel deserve the honor of competing in our 14th Challenge, held June 3, 2018 through June 7, 2018, in Denver, Colorado.

If you’re truly in the dark about exactly what DPC is, here’s a little background: Diesel Power Challenge is our annual performance, endurance, and strategy contest for diesel-powered pickups, their drivers, and crews. For 2018, your selected field of 10 (three Dodge Ram, three Ford, and four GM) participants will compete in six competitive events that include: dyno testing (for combined power and torque), evaluating a vehicle’s fuel consumption and driveability, jockeying a loaded trailer (10,000 pounds) through an obstacle course, towing that same trailer over an eighth-mile distance to achieve the quickest elapsed time, heads-up quarter-mile drag racing, and sled pulling.

From a brand perspective, the Ford/Power Stroke group (*note: engine-swapped entries are classified by truck brand, not engine type) leads the Big Three’s entries with 17, while the Dodge Ram/Cummins contingent of 16 entrants was a close Second. And, although the total number of GM/Duramax-powered rigs to select from is small (only five trucks—what is it with the Silverado and Sierra crowd?), the far-outnumbered, and, in this case, underdog brand, will be represented by four vehicles at DPC 2018.

Let us add one quick comment about the truck data published in this feature. While language in the official Diesel Power Challenge 2018 entry form expresses our preference for critical details about trucks that are being considered for your votes (including full brand or company names, model numbers, sizes, and such) is very clear, unfortunately, almost all the entries we received include omissions of details many of you may want to know.

Researching (calling/emailing/social-media shout-outs) owners for additional data is extremely time consuming, and something we are unable to do in a timeframe that supports producing this report by its deadline. As such, details that have the potential to impact the way you vote may or may not be present (for example, on one entry, absolutely no suspension info is provided. In several others, electronics/ECM calibration stats are limited to “SCT,” “HP Tuners,” or “tuning by Ryan” [we’ll assume Milliken]. And so on).

In a nutshell, we can’t really assume anything with data. So, what you see is what we got. We’re presenting the truck information as fleshed out as we could make it during the editing process (horsepower and torque values are based on the “big numbers” provided—typically with nitrous oxide—and we basically split the difference for fuel economy that was presented in a range, but we acknowledge there are some holes).

However, in this age of social media, we strongly suggest you reach out to entrants through various social channels (almost all of them are on Facebook or Instagram) and ask specific questions about their rigs. As it is with any election, being well informed is critical for making a good decision.

“On paper,” we have what appears to be the right material for a very stout group of Diesel Power Challenge 2018 competitors. Of course, “who gets invited” is your decision. While there’s no limit to the number of ballots you can submit, it’s important to understand that on each individual slip you’re only allowed to vote once for each truck and each selection absolutely must be made on the official ballot form, which you’ll find at the end of this report (photocopies, photos, faxes, emails, or Snapchats of the ballot will not be accepted).